Guangzhou customs crack down on smuggling

Customs officers in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, earlier this year seized more than 170,000 live aquatic products and 620,000 cans of milk powder.

The seizures came as part of a crackdown on two major cross-border, e-commerce smuggling cases.

"The two smuggling cases were estimated to be valued at more than 168 million yuan ($24.7 million)," Wu Yongtian, a senior officer from the Anti-Smuggling Bureau with Guangzhou Customs, said on Thursday.

A total of 17 suspects were detained in the two cases, Wu said at a press conference.

The seized live aquatic products primarily included lobsters, crabs and geoducks from the United States and Mexico, Wu said.

In a special operation launched on August 30, customs officers investigated and seized the 170,000 products, valued at more than 30 million yuan, in a seafood warehouse .

Eight suspects, including a suspected gang head surnamed Lin and his wife, were detained in the operation.

The couple, who operated a trading company, were under investigation for the illegal shipment to Guangzhou via an e-commerce platform. It is alleged they used faked documents and signatures to dodge tax.

In another operation attended by 20 small customs officer groups, officers seized 620,000 cans of milk powder valued at 138 million yuan.

A significant number of document and certificates were also seized in the operation, in which nine suspects were detained.

It is alleged that a criminal gang were smuggling milk powder to the mainland.

The gang was being investigated for its suspected collusion with a local company to illegally smuggle the milk powder to Guangzhou via an e-commerce platform last May.

Wu said further special operations will be launched to fight smuggling in the city.